Balderas family increases reward for tips in missing person case
Joseph Balderas has been missing for five years. Since his mother Nelda Balderas received the call that he went missing, each passing day without knowing what happened to her son has been torture. Although five years have passed, Alaska State Troopers and two private investigators have come up with no conclusion what transpired. But Joseph Balderas’ mother and siblings have not given up. Almost every summer they’ve returned to Nome to renew their plea to the public to come forward with tips that may lead to solving the mystery of Joseph’s disappearance. “Somebody must know something,” sister Salina Hargis said.
Joseph Balderas was last seen in late June 2016. He was 36-years-old at the time. On the weekend of June 24, his blue Dakota truck was parked at mile 44 of the Nome-Council Highway and that was where any trace of him ended. Balderas was an avid angler and enjoyed runs in the backcountry. Hargis said he loved fishing and loved Alaska for it’s outdoor grandeur. It was not out of character for him to go on a long hike into the backcountry on a sunny weekend of June. But after he did not show up to work on June 26, he was reported missing. Troopers investigated, Nome SAR and sustained search effort by friends and family, including the use of K9 units and aerial searches, turned up nothing. Balderas moved to Nome in September 2014 to work at the Nome Court as a law clerk and eventually as deputy magistrate until he went missing.
This week, Nelda Balderas and Salina Hargis came to Nome to visit the site where he was presumed gone missing and also to announce the increase of the reward to $25,000. “Maybe that gives somebody the incentive to say something,” said Nelda.
Balderas and Hargis also visited with the State Troopers and Nome Police Department to see if the missing person case has progressed at all. “What else can we do?” Hargis said.
The family hired two different private investigators as their confidence in the trooper’s investigation waned. One thing the investigators found was that somebody had used Joseph Balderas’ credit card in town after he went missing. This new information, they hope, will maybe shed some light or yield a clue.
They met with Nome Police Chief Mike Heintzelman and he, during the regular council meeting on Monday, confirmed that he will look into the case. Since Balderas’ truck was found outside of city limits the Alaska State Troopers ran point in the investigation. Now with the credit card use inside of city limits the Balderas’ family hopes that NPD could assist.
Salina Hargis and Nelda Balderas also attended Monday’s Nome Common Council meeting and renewed their request for help from the community to find out what happened to their loved one five years ago. If anybody has information or knowledge what happened to Joseph, the family offers a reward of up to $25,000 for tips leading to a resolution of the case. The phone number is 1-888901-9298.
GRIEVING— On Monday, Joseph Balderas’ sister Salina Hargis, left, and his mother Nelda Balderas visited the place where his truck was found, on mile 44 of the Nome-Council Highway.